Mariners shut down Felix

The only question left about Felix Hernadez’s season is whether or not he will win the Cy Young award. (Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images)

The Mariners have decided that 249 2/3 stellar innings were enough for Felix Hernandez this season. He will not start on Sunday, the final day of the season.

“At the age of 24, we think that as we move forward with this organization he is the centerpiece of what we are doing and certainly in our opinion the best pitcher in the league,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “With what he’s done we’d like him to just prepare for next year.”

What he has done is as follows:

Season — 13-12 with a 2.27 ERA (63 ER, 249.2 IP), 232 strikeouts and 30 quality starts in 34 total starts.Last start — Picked up win No. 13 in his last start 9/28 at Texas…allowed five hits and one run in 8.0 innings…struck out five and walked two…was his third consecutive start to pitch 8.0 innings and his 13th start going 8.0+ IP while allowing one earned run or fewer.The trend — Over his last 10 starts (since 8/10) is 6-3 with a 0.96 ERA (8 ER, 75.1 IP)…has allowed one or fewer earned runs in nine of his last 10 starts.Put up a zero — Has thrown 209 scoreless frames, the most in the majors this season and most since Randy Johnson posted 252 scoreless frames in 1999…Felix has allowed one or fewer runs in an inning in 236 of 256 innings in which he has appeared in (92.2%).
ERA, K, IP Leader — Currently leads the AL in ERA (2.27), innings (249.2) and strikeouts (232)…during the Cy Young era (since 1956), there have been only 10 times where a pitcher led the league in all 3 categories, and each time won the Cy Young (Randy Johnson – 1999 & 2002, Roger Clemens – 1991 & 1997), Sandy Koufax (1965 & 1966), Johan Santana – 2006, Mike Scott – 1986, Dwight Gooden – 1985, Steve Carlton – 1972).Falling ERA — Has had his season ERA drop in nine of his last 10 starts…had a 3.01 ERA on July 5, and posted a 1.49 ERA (20 ER, 121.0 IP) over his last 16 starts to lower his season mark to 2.27.
Run Support — In 12 losses, has received seven total runs of support (runs scored when he is in the game)…Mariners have scored one or fewer runs in 10 of 34 starts, and 2 or fewer runs 15 times…Mariners have not scored a run behind Felix in 7 of his last 14 starts…has the lowest run support average in the AL this season (3.10).Something for the effort — In 21 starts in which he has not record a win (12 L, 9 ND), has compiled a 3.34 ERA (53 ER, 143.0 IP)…in 9 no-decisions has a 1.92 ERA (14 ER, 65.2 IP).AL leaders — Among AL starters, ranks 1st in ERA (2.27), 1st in innings pitched (249.2), 1st in strikeouts (232), 1st in quality starts (30), 1st in opponents batting average (.212), T1st in starts (34), 3rd in complete games (6), T3rd in shutouts (1), 7th in K/BB ratio (3.31), 8th in K/9.0 IP (8.36) and T3rd in opponent GIDP (25).

“I wish the circumstances were different,” Zduriencik said. “It’s tough because you know how competitive he is. I asked him to respect our decision. The chances of a guy like this, anything happening to him are minimal. We understand that. This is something that he has to understand that it’s in his long-term best interest.”

On top of the general desire to pitch, one more possible win would have helped Hernandez’s Cy Young candidacy. But he will finish the season as a strong candidate and at the core of one of baseball’s better debates: how much do wins matter when assessing a pitcher?

The staggering ineptness of the Mariners offense has brought Hernandez to this point. Typically a pitcher with anywhere near these numbers is an automatic 20-game winner. Not on this team.

The next time Mariners fans will see Hernandez in action that counts will be April 1, 2011. No foolin’.